Saturday 12 September 2015 22:33, UK
Fabio Aru is set to win the 2015 Vuelta a Espana after previous leader Tom Dumoulin’s challenge finally collapsed on a mountainous 20th stage.
Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin) took a six-second lead over second-placed Aru (Astana) into the race's penultimate day, which contained four category-one climbs, but he was dropped on the second-to-last ascent and eventually crossed the line 3min 52sec down on his Italian rival.
Aru, 25, now leads the general classification by 1min 17sec from second-placed Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) and 1min 29sec from third-placed Rafal Majka (Tinkoff-Saxo) and only needs to avoid crashing on a flat and largely processional 21st stage into Madrid on Sunday evening to seal the first grand tour victory of his career.
Dumoulin's disastrous day saw him fall to sixth overall, 3min 46sec back, but his final result has still far exceeded all expectation for a rider who had previously not been regarded as a grand tour contender.
Stage 20 was won in sensational style by Ruben Plaza (Lampre-Merida). The Spaniard formed part of a large breakaway but moved into a lone lead with a huge 117km remaining and hung on to beat Jose Goncalves (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) into second place by 1min 7sec.
Aru told Eurosport: "This victory is for my team; it's not just about me. The public enjoyed a great battle. Even though I was tired, I gave my best. Sometimes you win, sometimes the results don't come your way, but you just have to keep fighting and that is what I have done. This is a great sport and this is a great result for us."
A disconsolate Dumoulin said: "Tomorrow I will be proud, but now it's just disappointment. I was just empty. I had no legs. I had an idea [the stage would go badly]. You have just got to deal with it. The whole race has been nice for me."
Aru and team-mate Mikel Landa distanced Dumoulin with an initial attack midway up the penultimate climb and although the 24-year-old Dutchman clawed his way back to them, it was clear that he had lost his imperious climbing form from earlier in the race and was vulnerable.
Sensing blood, Aru attacked again alongside Nairo Quintana (Movistar) and Majka just shy of the summit, with around 45km to go, and this time Dumoulin had no answer.
He managed to hold his deficit to about 20 seconds on the descent down the other side, but when more riders joined Aru's group in the valley leading to the final climb and Dumoulin became marooned with just one other struggling rider, the gap quickly ballooned to about two minutes.
It then doubled again on the final climb, after an attack from Quintana and Majka - who were also sensing they could leapfrog Dumoulin - triggered an upping in pace in Aru's group.
Aru's Astana team-mates could be seen punching the air in celebration inside the final 1km and Aru himself broke down in tears after crossing the line as new race leader and winner-elect.
Follow the final stage of the Vuelta with our live blog on Sunday evening. Coverage will start after the end of stage eight of the Tour of Britain, at about 6pm.
Stage 20 result
1 Ruben Plaza (Esp) Lampre-Merida, 4:37:05
2 Jose Goncalves (Por) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA, +1:07
3 Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) BMC Racing, +1:08
4 Romain Sicard (Fra) Europcar, +1:29
5 Amael Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing, +1:30
6 Carlos Verona (Esp) Etixx - Quick-Step, same time
7 Sergio Henao (Col) Team Sky, st
8 Kenny Elissonde (Fra) FDJ.fr, +1:35
9 Matteo Montaguti (Ita) Ag2r-La Mondiale, +1:43
10 Moreno Moser (Ita) Cannondale-Garmin, +2:40
Selected others
12 Rafal Majka (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo, +2:42
14 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar, +2:44
23 Joaquim Rodriguez (Esp) Katusha, +3:37
24 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana, +3:38
35 Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Giant-Alpecin, +7:30
General classification
1 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana, 83:01:40
2 Joaquim Rodriguez (Esp) Katusha, +1:17
3 Rafal Majka (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo, +1:29
4 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar, +2:02
5 Esteban Chaves (Col) Orica-GreenEdge, +3:30
6 Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Giant-Alpecin, 3:46
7 Alejandro Valverde (Esp) Movistar, +7:10
8 Mikel Nieve (Esp) Team Sky, +7:26
9 Daniel Moreno (Esp) Katusha, +7:32
10 Louis Meintjes (RSA) MTN-Qhubeka, +10:46
